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“Well,” Mickie said, glancing at Ronnie. “At least he got it half right.”
“Yeah, his heart was in the right place. Too bad he’s too dumb to know what he did wrong.”
JP frowned. His sister was having way too much fun at his expense. “Just wait until you fall in love, Veronica. I’m gonna rub your nose in every damn mistake you make.”
She snorted. “After growing up with five brothers, do you really think I’m itching to shackle myself to a man? Hell no. Not for me.”
Giggling, Mickie added, “You’d walk all over the beta males, and I can’t even begin to imagine you with an alpha.”
Ronnie shuddered. “Perish the thought. I’ll stick to sex-only hookups, thanks.”
Ugh, gross. Snapping his fingers, JP rolled his eyes. “Hey, could we get back to me here? I’m the one who hasn’t slept or eaten in two days.”
Mickie’s expression softened. “Okay, I’m going to ask you a question that I want you to really think about. Don’t just give me a knee-jerk reaction.”
Nodding, he scraped the last bit of yogurt out of the container, fed it to Kayla, then focused on Mickie. “Okay.”
“May this never happen, but let’s say my friend Ralph died tomorrow.” She winced as though the thought of losing her best friend physically hurt.
“Okay…” Where the hell was she going with this?
“I think it’s pretty safe to say I’d be devastated. Ralph is so much more than simply a friend to me. Before I met Keith, he was all I had. My only family. The only person who’d stuck with me through all of my ups and downs.”
“Mickie, I know all this.”
“Shh, just listen. So, imagine Ralph passes, and I fuck up. I get wasted. Totally blackout drunk.”
“You wouldn’t—”
She lifted a hand. “I might, JP. I’m a recovering addict who used alcohol and drugs to mask emotional pain. The threat is always there. Losing Ralph would be traumatizing for me. It’d shake up my entire world, flip everything I know upside down. I’m not sure I’d be strong enough to handle something that horrifying.”
Frowning, he leaned back against his chair and really gave Mickie’s words a chance to set in.
“You guys didn’t know me when I was using, but trust me, you wouldn’t even recognize me. I was mean, hurtful, toxic to everyone around me. I used people, did things that I’ll forever be ashamed of, and spit in the face of everyone who tried to get me to admit I needed help. So let’s say I became that woman again. I’m awful to all of you. Damn, near abusive. Then I’m in an accident, and you get the call. What would you do?”
The urge to immediately tell her he’d do anything for her sat on the edge of his tongue, but she held up a finger.
“Think before you answer.”
So he thought. He thought of how much he loved his siblings, Mickie included. He thought of all the shit they’d been through and how they depended on each other. He thought of how distraught Keith would be to see Mickie suffering in such a way. And he discovered that no matter what, no matter how destructive Mickie became to herself or others, he’d always try to help her. No. Matter. What. As he’d do for any of his family members.
“Shit,” he said as the weight of his mistake crashed down on his shoulders. “There isn’t anything you could do that would keep me from rushing to your bedside.”
“Exactly,” she said with a soft smile as she sat back in her seat. “What Hannah is going through with her parents isn’t the same as how things are with your father.”
“That’s for damn sure,” Ronnie added. Something flashed in her eyes. A sadness JP had never seen before. “I think we’re all a little screwed up about relationships because of him. Quick to walk away when something goes wrong, or afraid to even dive in because we’re terrified of being trapped in a toxic situation like we were as kids.”
Huh, he’d never thought about it quite in those terms.
“But it’s not the same for Hannah,” Ronnie continued. “Her parents are struggling, suffering, and spiraling out of control. They need help. And sometimes, when family needs help, you step up, even if you know it’s going to be painful for you. Our father is irredeemable. He’s never been more than a piece of shit. Hannah’s parents were loving and raised her the best they could. Not perfect, no, but flawed humans like all of us. They’re drowning in grief and despair. Hannah isn’t the type to turn away from them because helping will be uncomfortable. If you ask me, that’s a pretty damn admirable quality.”
It was admirable. That loyalty was one of the qualities he loved about her.
As the baby of the family, sometimes he and his brothers forgot Ronnie was an adult like the rest of them. Hell, probably more mature than the lot of them combined despite her brash attitude and sailor’s mouth. “You’re pretty smart, you know that?”
